Documentary commemorates 100 years since racial cleansing of Catcher, Arkansas
The story of racial cleansing in a small town located between Van Buren and Fort Smith often goes untold.
By Lakyra Banks
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FORT SMITH, Arkansas (KHBS) — The story of Black Americans being violently pushed out of their homes and towns due to racial tension is seen several times throughout American history.
“We have Elaine in 1919. We have Tulsa in 1921. We have Chicago around this time in 1919 as well,” said Michael Anthony, an instructor at the University of Arkansas. “It’s not an anomaly. These stories are part and parcel with the time period of the Jim Crow South.”
However, the story of racial cleansing in a small town located between Van Buren and Fort Smith often goes untold.
“One of the most shocking things is how the story’s been suppressed in many ways,” said Anthony.
A short documentary being released this Black History month hopes to change that.
“Sometimes you have these stories that are hidden from history, either for reasons of prejudice or just because things get wiped from history and sometimes it’s important to bring these stories out,” said Brandon Chase Goldsmith, the executive director for the Fort Smith International Film festival.
“Catcher: Breaking the Code of Silence” tells the story of events that took place in Catcher, Arkansas 100 years ago.
In 1923, 23-year-old Effie Lattimer, a white woman, was found dead inside her home. However, Lattimer’s neighbor found her right before she died. According to the neighbor, Lattimer said a black man, Son Bettis, shot her.
“In the modern age, there’s been some speculation by other family members that maybe she said in a disoriented state, ‘somebody shot me’.
Following the death of Lattimer, Son Bettis, a local black farmer, is taken in by police. When he doesn’t admit to killing Lattimer, Anthony said police had to find further evidence.
Police took another look at the crime scene and found a small piece of wood that they believe could have been a missing piece that fell off of the murder weapon.
“From that point, they go throughout the Black community only, which is important to note, to look for a weapon or a shotgun.” Anthony said.
Police then came to the house of Henry Clay, a 56-year-old farmer. Clay told police that his 14-year-old son, John Henry Clay, got a shotgun for his birthday.
When police searched the home, they found that the shotgun was missing a piece of wood, similar to what was found at the murder scene.
Son Bettis, John Henry Clay and a third man, Spurgeon Ruck, were taken into police custody.
“Whenever these men were found guilty by trial by their peers, in many ways before the trial even occurred, this community turned against them. They try to pull them out of the jail that night after they’re found, associate the suspects with the murder and then try to lynch them,” said Anthony.
Anthony said the mob of about 500 people were not able to do that. Instead, they turned their anger to the Black community as a whole.
“From that point, we really see the white community members turn instead to the only people they can get their hands on, which are the remaining black community members.”
In a matter of hours, nearly 300 black citizens were driven from their homes.
Now all that’s left of Catcher is a single road, showing that much like the town’s history, only so little is remembered.
The documentary, “Catcher: Breaking the Code of Silence” hopes to, as its title says, get people in the present talking about the past.
The documentary marked 100 years since the incidents of Catcher, Arkansas, in 1923. Filmmakers said it’s aimed at exposing the dark history of the region and educating the public.
“One of the interesting things about this story is that even people in the families were not being told about the story. Like it was not passed on. And so when you have something that’s been held secret for that long and not told, it’s super important to get it out,” said Goldsmith.
Anthony said many descendants are unaware of what happened in Catcher due to the story being suppressed.
“From the white perspective, this is a little bit easier to explain for white community members. There’s a lot of shame associated with this pushing out a black population of people who are undoubtedly innocent,” he said. “Now, the more interesting story in many ways is why this story has been suppressed amongst black descendants of the community of Catcher. It’s just shame of what happened there and not really being able to fully explain that to a young child of why they’ve been displaced and why they had nothing they could really do about it.”
Anthony said now, a century later, descendants are calling for change.
“We can’t remedy what happened to them, but still getting some kind of admission from the state that this was an incorrect judgment would be a good step,” he said.
“Catcher: Breaking the Code of Silence” is part of the Fort Smith International Film Festival’s Black History Month Celebration.
The film premieres at 6 p.m. Feb. 10, at the King Opera House in Van Buren.
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